Town fell to their fifth consecutive defeat at Highbury this afternoon, but can be more than pleased with the way they acquitted themselves. Despite a difficult first half Town matched their more illustrious counterparts in the second, but lost due to a 67th minute Thierry Henry goal.
Town lined up with the surprise inclusion of Martijn Reuser on the left of midfield. Jamie Clapham moved to left back in place of the injured Hermann Hreidarsson while Mark Venus and Titus Bramble were the centre-halves.
Up front Alun Armstrong missed out on even a place on the bench as James Scowcroft moved from midfield. Jim Magilton returned after his hamstring injury.
Town spent much of the first half under pressure and it was only the brilliance of Richard Wright that stopped the home side from going ahead. He made four magnificent saves, the best a tip over from a dipping Wiltord shot. Others included a point blank save from Lauren and a tip wide from a Dennis Bergkamp shot that seemed to be looping inexorably towards the top left corner. Wright has had his critics recently, particularly after the Birmingham game, but he certainly showed his best this afternoon.
Town's better showings during the first half were largely runs into space made by Martijn Reuser. The Dutchman was seemingly everywhere as he tried to latch on to passes. He came close to getting beyond the defence when James Scowcroft put in a first time ball. Reuser was inches from getting in ahead of the defender.
Gary Croft collided with Titus Bramble and the ex-Blackburn player was replaced by Wayne Brown. With so many other defenders currently injured George Burley will hope that Croft has nothing too serious and that Fabian Wilnis will continue his recovery quickly.
The defence re-arranged in a variety of ways as the game continued, but ultimately Jermaine Wright found himself in an unfamiliar right defensive role.
Marcus Stewart once again fell foul of a referee getting a yellow card for a crude, if not exactly life-threatening, tackle on Tony Adams.
Half-time came and Town had weathered the storm and were starting to make more of an impression themselves. This they continued to do in the second half forcing Arsene Wenger to bring Thierry Henry off the bench.
Town's best opportunity fell to Marcus Stewart just four or so yards out, but sadly Town's top goalscorer couldn't make it count. He appeared to stand on the ball as it came to him through a crowd of players and it squirmed safely to David Seaman.
A few minutes later, and at this stage against the run of play, Arsenal scored. Thierry Henry was found in space by Dennis Bergkamp and the Frenchman made no mistake. It was a well-taken goal from an excellent ball, however Town's makeshift defence could well have been at the heart of why Henry was given so much time and space. Wayne Brown was certainly playing Henry onside with him well beyond the furthest right-sided defender.
Town introduced Naylor to add a greater physical presence to the attack, but Town got little change from the likes of Tony Adams.
After two minutes injury time referee Harris called time. Town had done well, but perhaps not well enough. While Arsenal probably deserved the result, a point and possibly a Town win were by no means out of the question.
On the face of it five straight defeats looks like a side doing very badly indeed. However, the performance against Leeds and against Arsenal told a very different story. With arguably easier fixtures in the offing Town's bad run looks likely to come to an end soon and with the Blues still sixth, and with a game in hand on some sides, a European place looks a far from unrealistic target.
Marcus Stewart is expected to hear the result of his appeal against his red card against Leeds early this week. Town manager George Burley spoke to the referee, Peter Jones, after the game who said he would have another look at the incident. He added that if he felt the red card harsh he would rescind it.
According to Stewart video evidence shows that he made no contact with Harte who leapt into the air and rolled about on the ground theatrically in the aftermath of the challenge.